The M72 LAW is the only launcher available when Create-a-Class is unlocked. It is capable of both free-fire and vehicle lock-on, identical to the AT4 and apart from the amount of rockets available and a few minor aesthetics such as the prepping animation and the reload time.

When used in conjunction with Scavenger Pro, it can be more versatile than the Strela-3 or the RPG-7, as it is capable of both free-fire and lock-on fire, and will have two rockets, making it capable of destroying most vehicles, even the ones which are able to dodge rockets or deploy flares. An effective tactic to destroying an aircraft with free fire is using the hip fire crosshairs and then firing. This tactic is most effective on low flying helicopters, but can be used on higher flying killstreaks such as the Chopper Gunner by leading the target (aiming ahead of where it is going to go). However, like all other launchers, Scavenger will not replenish ammunition. Like the RPG, the fired rockets tend to not fire at the exact point the sights show, meaning that it can be difficult to fire at buildings through windows or doors at long ranges. Due to this, firing while moving will most likely make the rocket go off-course and may miss the target or fail to kill them. Still, the LAW has much higher accuracy than the RPG.

If the player is concentrating on infantry or killstreaks specifically, the RPG-7 or Strela-3 are better choices, as they have 1 reserve rocket without Scavenger Pro, and with it have 2 in reserve.

Contrary to popular belief, the M72 LAW does not have smaller blast radius or lower damage then the RPG. Similar to the RPG, It does 160-70 damage with a 5.4m blast radius. It drops about 16.5 damage per every meter, meaning that the lethal blast radius is about 3.5m, as the damage would drop to 102-112.

Its primary limitations are its low ammunition and the rather long "switch-to" time, as the player must "double-tap" the weapon switch button twice in quick succession to instantly ready the weapon quickly for firing, similar to that of the AT4 found in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

In Zombies, the M72 LAW is available in the Mystery Box and comes with 21 rockets on every map, excluding Dead Ops Arcade. It is not very useful though, as it creates crawlers and it has a very slow reload. Speed Cola is strongly recommended, as is PhD Flopper on Ascension, Call of the Dead, Shangri-La and Moon. The player should replace it with another weapon as soon as possible or Pack-a-Punch it. When upgraded, it becomes the "M72 Anarchy," featuring a 10 round capacity and a fully-automatic fire mode. The player will no longer automatically aim down the sights when firing the upgraded version, thus allowing a faster rate of fire. The M72 Anarchy is much more effective than the stock version and is often underestimated, even though it can down a horde of zombies in higher rounds with only two to three shots with power that is higher than that of the upgraded Ray Gun, provided that the rocket as well as the splash damage hits. The only real downfall is that it does not accumulate points very fast, nor does it kill very fast in later rounds.

The M72 LAW appears as one of the two launchers in the Nintendo DS version of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The player must look through the sight in order for the weapon to fire. Unlike on the consoles, this weapon has multiple uses, having up to three rockets in reserve ammo. In Multiplayer, it is unlocked for the allied faction after 150 kills with the Remington 870, and 150 kills with the M72 LAW will unlock the M79, always for the allied faction.